By Heather Stephenson, IdealBite.com
True confession: I'm a cat person. And although I do love my cat to pieces, I think I have a healthy sense of normalcy about the whole pet-ownership thing. My cat has plenty of toys and tons of love, but I have yet to buy him a diamond-studded collar or a hundred-dollar cat bed.
Thus, really over-the-top pet lovers have always puzzled me a little. I mean, these people are serious about their passion for their pets, lavishing them with clothing, jewelry, birthday parties, even professional pet portraits designed to preserve that happy face for all of posterity.
Another kind of pet-preservation makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, though.
A few years back, while chatting with a friend as she walked her dog, I had what I like to refer to as a "what's wrong with this picture?" revelation. I watched as she stopped and reached down with a plastic grocery store bag, picked up her dog's poop, knotted up the bag, and tossed it in a trashcan.
Um, why are we preserving poop, people?
Seriously - one of the most naturally biodegradable substances in the world, and we are sealing it in plastic. For what kind of posterity? In the end, I can accept the portrait thing... but I'll never understand a need to keep your dog's poop...fresh.
Wanna green your pet practices? Check out biodegradable dog-doo bags.
Heather Stephenson
CEO and Co-Founder
http://www.IdealBite.com
At least your friend was recycling by reusing a shopping bag. I think the real issue here is the need for bio-degradable shopping bags.
I never actually thought about this. I recycle my plastic grocery bags by using them to throw out my cat litter. I also use them for my regular trash, and I rarely buy trash bags, probably less than once a year. Now this is not a good idea? I really want to do what's right. BTW I came home today and saw a plastic bag sticking out of my trash, someone had walked about 20 feet up my driveway from the sidewalk and tossed their plastic bag full of dog poop into my trash. Kind of strange.
well one reason we pickup dog poop is because it isnt very sanitary or doesnt look to nice to have dog poop laying around where other people walk or play.take it from a petsitter who walks a lot of dogs
I have cats, who never go outside, so I have quite a few liter boxes. I used to use my grocery bags to "scoop" out the boxes & to be honest I never really thought about "sealing" the poop. Great thought. I do however now use the big plastic container that the liter comes in, it holds a lot of "scoops" and I can seal it in-between cleanings. Now I am concerned that this may not be a good alternative to the plastic bag...I will have to check into it. I am an avid recycler(if that is a word)& thought it was a great idea.
I will check back later and let you know.
I agree with several earlier comments; I do not care to see or step in "poo" that is outside AND I do not want it "sealed" either. I agree that there is a need for biodegradable shopping bags.
Petsmart and Petco sell biodegradable dog pick up bags. I believe they are made of corn starch.
I live in Chicago and own a pit bull terrier, and I have to say, that person with the biodegradable shopping bag idea may be on to something. First of all, there's a law in place which will fine an individual for LEAVING your dog's dookie where they pooed. And I don't know how much people really want to spend when you've got plenty of bags collected from last week's shopping trip. Besides, I don't know how many times I've seen floating plastic grocery bags floating around that this city.
Regarding the disposal of cat litter I use bio-degradable paper shopping bags and pine cat litter. For solid waste a scoop is good for flushing it down the toilet. It is a shame that the plastic bag that the pine litter comes in is not bio-degradable too. I feel bad having to put that in the garbage, but as to the litter it will all return to the earth wher nature will transform it.
I THINK THAT THE BAGS ARE A GOOD IDEA FOR WHEN YOUR ON THE GO BUT WHAT ABOUT AT HOME?
WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO RECYCLE THE POO ITSELF
I HAVE AN IDEA E-MAIL ME
There has been lots of evidence lately to show that runnoff of cat litter is damaging our oceans and water supply.
http://www.bluevoice.org/blog1/sep-10-07.html